There are a lot of people who are looking to get better image quality on the video security cameras for their homes or businesses. It is my job to keep up with fast past of new video security technologies, and to educate low-voltage installers, IT professionals, and consumers on the various types of video surveillance which are currently on the market.

Before reading this post, one should educate himself/herself with a little background on how resolution of cameras and DVRs is measured. Older camera technology is measured in TVL or “horizontal TV-Lines”, while newer HD camera technology is measured in pixels (horizontal multiplied by vertical). The greater the number of TVL or pixels, the better the resolution. One of the biggest flaws of current analog technology is that the highest analog recording resolution is 960H (960×480), or 960 horizontal lines, but 1000 TVL cameras typically have 1280×960 pixels, or 1280 horizontal lines. This results in forced recording at 960H, even if the camera has higher resolution. That is the same concept putting a governor on a sports car to maximize the speed at which it travels. Here is a compressed version of how it looks when viewing on a screen:

Now take a look at the cost of a 16 Channel 960H DVR ($259.95) and an all-in-one 1000 TV-Line CCTV camera ($79.95) with an effective resolution of 1280×960 pixels, for a total of $339.90. Now take a look at a 16 Channel Hybrid HD-TVI DVR ($599.95) and an all-in-one 1080p HD-TVI camera ($89.95) with an effective resolution of 1920×1080 for a total of $689.90. So for about double the investment, one can upgrade his/her critical cameras to 1080p, while keeping less critical cameras in lower resolution. This offers the ability to mitigate upgrade costs, while achieving full HD resolution. The difference between a 650 TVL camera and a 3-megapixel HD camera can been seen in this video.

Alternatively one could opt for a non-hybrid 16 Channel HD-TVI DVR ($369.95) and 16 all-in-one 1080p TVI cameras ($79.95 x 16) for a total of $1649.95. This would be more ideal if one needed all cameras in HD resolution.

Read the web chat conversation I had with a low-voltage security camera installer this morning, and see how I helped him achieve his objective while at the same time adding much more value in to his equipment upgrade. With the proposed solution, it would result in the ability to upgrade to a higher resolution camera with a clearer image and better ability to zoom in on details, versus spending money on a 1000 TVL camera which would not offer any significant gains.

Chatting with Guest

You:Hi, what can I do for
you?

Guest:Quick question, if I
am using a DVR with 960H resolution I am thinking I won’t see much image
quality difference between a 700tVL and 1000TVL camera — or am I wrong?

You:it’s not only the TVL
that counts toward the image quality

You:it’s also the sensor (CCD
vs. CMOS, Panasonic vs. Sony)

You:and some other
improvements in lighting, exposure, etc

You:but all other things
being equal, you will see an improvement in 1000TVL over 700TVL; it’s just not
worth it in today’s market compared to the improvements you will see in HD
resolution

You:if you really want to
see improvements in image quality, your best bet would be to purchase one of
our low-cost hybrid DVRs, and then upgrade your critical cameras to 1080p

You:and keep the majority
of your other cameras in 700TVL

You:or whatever you
currently use

You:HD-SDI was released a
few years ago. And HD-TVI and HD-CVI were released earlier this year

You:And the three
technologies are competing in the market, which is resulting in dropped prices

Guest:give me a number for
one of the hibrid DVRs — didn’t know there was such a thing, need 16 channel

You:And if for whatever
reason the MAG-Series DVR is beyond what your budget will allow, you can go
with our EA-Series DVRs. The difference is the MAG-Series is made in Korea
with a 3-year warranty, has a much better app, and is compatible with Windows
and Mac OS. The EA-Series is made in China with a 2-year warranty, has
compatibility with iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and other legacy mobile devices,
is compatible with Windows only, and can be accessed from a Mac using Safari
only.

Guest:so now you’ve created
a lot more work for me We were reusing a 16 Channel DVR purchaed a few months
ago for temporary deployment at same location, now moving to permanent place
and adding 11 more cams with the existing 3. But if go with higher image
quality cameras I am sure I can upsell my client into the upgraded DVR — so
if I upgrade to your recommnended DVR since it’s a hybrid it will work with
analog cams as I have three I am redeploying one being the 052730LR700550DV
and another similar that has a distance of 400′, plus I am looking at two that
are elevator cameras I don’t think I want to change out, but only 700 TVL Sony
Super HAD CCD II 2.8mm — then I would need varifocal lens 2.8 – 10 or 12 mm
to cover indoor parking garage from one end to the other, about 50M (3) 2.8-12
MM lens about 50′ (3) and 2.812 MM lens up to 40Ms for my other cameras

You:the varifocal lens
would be ideal for box/brick type cameras only. If mounting the camera in a
parking garage, make sure you point it away from light sources such as the
exit. If pointing it toward an exit, ensure you are using a true WDR camera to
account for the high exposure contrast

You:you can use any number
of analog cameras with any number of HD cameras, as the MAG-Series DVRs have
auto-sensing inputs for analog up to 960H resolution or HD up to 1080p
resolution.